England progress to quarterfinals in tense showdown

[Click here for the web version of this email]( [Daily Maverick] Wednesday, 4 July 2018 “Sometimes a pessimist is only an optimist with extra information.” Idries Shah Story of the Day [An Orgy of Galas]( By Richard Poplak Now there’s a collective noun we didn’t know we didn’t want. [First Technology.]( Your company's future is in the hands of your IT department. While You Were Sleeping [England progress as Colombia stage last-minute rally]( It takes a special effort to make Neymar's antics look rational, but somehow Colombia managed just that in their last 16 match against England. A lone Harry Kane penalty separated the two sides for much of the match until Yerry Mina headed home for the equaliser. But it was less Thuma Mina and more toemaar, Mina, as England somehow won on penalties. [Sharapova crashes out of Wimbledon]( Staying with tense sporting moments, Maria Sharapova made an abrupt exit from Wimbledon, having lost to Russian Vitalia Diatchenko. Ranked 132 in the world, Diatchenko managed a 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 win after three hours of play. This year, at least, will see no showdown between Sharapova and Williams. [Thai soccer team in 'good health']( The trapped Thai soccer team was videotaped on Wednesday and appeared in good health and spirits. After all 13 were discovered alive by divers nine days after going missing, a massive rescue effort is now under way. Options for their escape currently comprise of learning how to dive out, drilling a hole to reach them, or waiting for the rainy season to end. The risk factor is naturally in a descending order with the time required to get them out. [Trump removes Obama-instated affirmative action]( It's been relatively quiet on the Donald Trump front lately, but that changed abruptly this week. President Trump on Tuesday moved towards rescinding Obama-era recruitment guidelines encouraging schools to account for race and ethnicity. Originally aimed at promoting diversity in schools, the decision will invariably end up in the Supreme Court, where swing voter Justice Anthony Kennedy will probably be replaced with a far more conservative, Trumpish candidate. [First Technology.]( Your company's future is in the hands of your IT department. Picture of the Day By EPA-EFE/STRINGER Libyan Red Crescent rescue workers carry the body of a drowned migrant on a beach after it was washed up at Tajoura, 14km east of Tripoli, Libya, on 2 July 2018. In Numbers 24 hours The period of time within which the word "mate" was banned from Australia's parliament and subsequently reinstated. Facts of the Day Today is America's Independence Day. Hug an American near you today! Mount Rushmore's sculptor was a high-ranking member of the Ku Klux Klan Featured Articles [Crime: 2019 Elections’ political football between the DA and ANC]( [Crime: 2019 Elections’ political football between the DA and ANC]( BY Rebecca Davis [In transition, suffering strikes, Sassa struggles to pay grants]( [In transition, suffering strikes, Sassa struggles to pay grants]( BY Greg Nicolson & Bheki Simelane [Groote Schuur trauma ward: ‘We are overloaded with violence’]( [Groote Schuur trauma ward: ‘We are overloaded with violence’]( BY Leila Dougan and Shaun Swingler [Almost three decades after Ceaușescu’s violent death, democracy solved many problems, yet many questions remain unanswered]( BY Greg Mills [We need National Health Insurance now more than ever]( BY Daily Maverick [Golden Boot leaders after the last 16 and the goals that got them there]( BY Antoinette Muller [Just Fontaine’s World Cup record is safe, but these have been shattered or equalled]( BY Antoinette Muller [How the final eight teams at the World Cup compare head-to-head]( BY Antoinette Muller [Sweden send Switzerland flat packing, Foulcao Kane’t touch this]( BY Antoinette Muller [Western Cape opposes national government’s mining rights approval]( BY John Yeld for GroundUp Opinionistas [Smoke, mirrors and putting ANC money where its mouth is]( BY Susan Booysen [For a moment, the DA almost had a message]( BY Ian Von Memerty [Why can hunters and animal rightists seemingly never agree?]( BY Peter Flack [A clarion call to action in defence of our constitutional democracy]( BY Boichoko Ditlhake [White fragility debunked – be part of the solution]( BY Oscar Van Heerden [First Technology.]( Your company's future is in the hands of your IT department. 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